


For Him

by Ray_Writes



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Sexual Content
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-15
Updated: 2018-02-15
Packaged: 2019-03-18 20:57:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,748
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13689666
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ray_Writes/pseuds/Ray_Writes
Summary: Donna decides to take the lead in celebrating for a change, much to her Spaceman's surprise.





	For Him

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Valentines Day, everyone! Just barely, I know. Whoops. But hopefully you enjoy this on whatever day it finds you. Thanks for reading!

After a few days of running, it was always good to take a bit of time to relax. That was Donna’s view, anyway, and she’d been rather successful at bringing the Doctor round to her way of thinking. That probably had something to do with her method of persuasion, but he hadn’t even put up much fight when she suggested a break that did not include their bedroom this morning.

“Just a visit?” Her Spaceman checked as the TARDIS shuddered along on another journey through the Vortex.

“No, I’m leaving you for one of the local boys,” said Donna, rolling her eyes.

“ _ Donna _ .”

“Oh, quit whining! How many times do I have to tell you I’m not going anywhere till you believe me?” She circled round to his side of the console and pecked him on the cheek. “Should just be Gramps today. If we’re quick, we’ll only have to chat with mum for an hour.”

“Good plan,” he agreed, leaning away from the controls kiss her lips. The whole ship seemed to tilt slightly slightly with the motion.

“Oi!”

“Whoops!” The Doctor broke away, and he quickly worked to regain control. Donna shook her head. What was she going to do with him?

“Hey, here they are, the happy couple!” Her Gramps cheered when he met them at the door.

Donna hugged him and reciprocated his kiss to the cheek before standing aside to let him and the Doctor shake hands.

“Mum out, then?”

“Yeah, she won’t be back for a while.”

“Well, you did pick a good time,” the Doctor muttered in her ear, and Donna swatted at his arm lightly. She couldn’t hide her grin, though.

They were trying to come over more frequently now, in the hopes that if Donna’s mum saw her and the Doctor together often enough, she’d be less opposed to the idea that they were actually  _ together _ — whenever they got around to telling her, that was.

To that end, Spaceman got to work fixing the telly, which had apparently stopped displaying anything last Thursday, while Donna made them all tea in the kitchen.

“So how’ve you been? It’s not been too long since we visited, has it?”

“Oh no, just a couple weeks,” said her Gramps. “It’s, uh, the 13th — no, the 14th today.”

“The 14th?” Donna raised her head, unable to help a note of dread in her voice. “And it’s still February?”

Her grandad’s eyes widened. “Oh yeah. Well, that’s nice you came in today then, isn’t it?”

Donna groaned. “Oh, don’t tell him.” Figured the TARDIS had picked this one date out of any other in February to land; it was how she got her kicks, Donna just knew it.

“Eh? Something wrong with you two?”

“No, it’s fine. It’s just if he knows it’s today he’ll want to make a whole fuss, and you know I don’t hold with it.” Sometimes it was hard to believe she was the human in this relationship, seeing how she couldn’t care less for any of her own holidays while he seemed to revel in celebrating them.

“Donna, I know you haven’t always had the best Valentine’s Day—”

“Shh!” Donna listened for any sound or sign that the Time Lord had heard in the next room, but all she picked up was the continued buzzing of the sonic.

“But what would be so bad about this one?”

She didn’t have a good answer to that, not one that explained her current behavior, anyway. The Doctor certainly wasn’t like any of the boyfriends she’d had on those past Valentine’s Days. And it wasn’t as if she’d hated the Christmases they’d shared, both before and after becoming a couple.

“I just don’t see the need for a fuss. I mean, I know he likes it.”

“Well, some people do,” said her Gramps with a shrug.

Donna grimaced. “I sound so ungrateful right now. I mean, here I’ve got an alien genius who takes me to all these amazing places and adores me — God knows what for — and I can’t even be bothered with Valentine’s Day.”

It wasn’t that she didn’t like the occasional pampering. But sometimes the sheer volume of gifts and compliments he gave her was overwhelming, seeing as half the time she couldn’t see what she’d done to even earn them. He’d pull out all the stops on a day like today, and she’d be liable to get flustered and call him an idiot in return. She definitely knew she didn’t want that for their first Valentine’s.

“—and it might not be my business saying, but he adores you for just the sort of person you are, sweetheart,” her grandad was saying. “You make him happy any day of the year. So if you don’t want a fuss, I’m sure that’d be alright with him.”

“No, but he likes one,” she repeated. “And after everything he’s done for me, it just wouldn’t be right if I...oh, Gramps, I’ve got it!”

“What was that?” The Doctor called from the sitting room. “Donna, did you need something?”

“No!” She hollered back. Then she made sure to keep her voice lowered when she turned back to her Gramps. “Look, I need you to keep him occupied while I go out for some things. And make sure he doesn’t go to the TARDIS for anything cos I’ll need time to put dinner together.”

“A surprise, eh?” He asked, grinning.

“Yeah, should be a nice change, me pulling one on him.” All the places he’d taken her and dates he’d set up, and now she could return the favor. That didn’t sound like a bad Valentine’s Day at all.

Donna crept towards the back door, and Gramps helped her ease it open so it wouldn’t creak. “Good luck, my darling,” he told her.

“Thanks. Love you.”

Donna snuck around the side of the house, only straightening up properly once she’d gotten halfway down the road. She couldn’t help a slight fit of the giggles; maybe it wasn’t intergalactic espionage, but she was making a pretty good spy so far!

At the shops, she brought up a mental list of what they had on the TARDIS and what she’d need. She’d make something light. He had a sweet tooth more than anything else, so dessert would be more important anyway. What did she know how to make with bananas?

Donna also thought it’d be good to investigate whether the TARDIS had another room for eating things rather than a kitchen. Not that there was anything wrong with the kitchen, mind, but she was aiming for a little more romantic than that since she couldn’t exactly afford taking them somewhere fancy.

She remembered the candles she’d bought at that alien bazaar a few weeks back. There was one that just gave off a nice soft red glow. That’d be good for the table. The others were supposed to effuse a room with a sort of relaxing atmosphere. She’d been saving them to use in the bath sometime, but depending on how their night went...yeah, those could do quite nice for later.

Donna picked up a bottle of wine, thinking that would be simplest. He had a small collection on board, of course, but the idea was that she was putting the effort in here. She went a little more expensive than usual, but it wasn’t as if she was spending her money on much else these days.

So, food, drink, dessert, candles. Not bad for short notice. Although if she was trying to set a mood, she’d probably need to change her clothes, she realized, looking down at her plain jumper and jeans. Sure, he was a bit dense about these things, but he’d realize something was going on with the right visual cue. She’d packed a dress she liked herself in well enough, so that spared having to search through the wardrobe room.

Donna thought about putting her hair up. That always drove him crazy, taking it down before they fell into bed together.

But did she want to just fall into bed? This was supposed to be special. She needed something a little extra, then.

Her footsteps had slowed and then stopped in front of the lingerie shop. Donna had been inside before once or twice, though she’d never bought anything. Actually, she’d put in an order for her honeymoon with Lance, but that had ended up canceled with all the rest. Best not to dwell on it. She’d long moved on from the likes of him.

She entered the shop, hoping to God she didn’t run into anyone she knew inside. That’d be a brilliant way for her mum to find out about them; Nerys phoning to say she’d seen Donna buying fancy knickers.

But she’d risk it for the Doctor. That Spaceman was about to have the best Valentine’s Day of his life by the time she was done.

—-

Today was not shaping up to be a good day at all.

After many valiant attempts at troubleshooting, the Doctor had realized the problem was simply that the telly was  not plugged in. Wilfred had apparently forgotten to do so after Sylvia had had him move the whole apparatus to the side and then back again so she could hoover. Fair enough; Donna had to remind him which pocket he’d last put his TARDIS key in several times a week.

He’d entered the kitchen to announce his findings to Donna and her grandfather, only to realize that she was missing. “Where’s Donna?”

Wilf had looked up from the table. “Oh, ah, Sylvia called and asked her to go pick up a few extra things from the shops.”

“Oh.” The Doctor’s shoulders had slumped. “When is she getting back?”

“Couldn’t say. But I’m sure we can find something to do in the meantime. Where have you two been to lately?”

It wasn’t that he didn’t enjoy spending time with Wilfred. It was just that he enjoyed it even more when Donna was there with him. Telling the man about their various adventures and the brilliant role she’d had to play in them was alright, but it was no substitute for her actual presence.

He’d got through all their latest travels — well, not the platinum suite on the  _ Losrana _ , but that was far too personal a night to share with anyone, much less Donna’s grandfather. Wilfred had gone in search of Cluedo. And Donna still wasn’t back.

The front door opened, and he jumped up, but it was Sylvia in the hall.

“Oh,” the Doctor said, unable to hide his disappointment. Right, they were trying to improve relations. “Did you need some help with those?” He gestured to her bag-laden arms, wondering what was so important that Donna had to go buy when it looked as if her mother had brought the whole store home.

Her nose wrinkled. “What are you doing here?”

“Same as you, I expect. Waiting for Donna to get back.”

Sylvia scoffed, moving past him into the kitchen. “You think I have nothing better to do than sit around days on end for her ladyship to turn up? I never even know when she’s coming round, not since she took up with you.”

“No, but you knew she was in today,” the Doctor argued with a frown. “That’s why she’s been out this whole time.”

“What are you talking about?”

Before he could answer, Wilfred shuffled into view in the archway. “Sylvia, is that you, love?”

“Who else would it be? Well,” she corrected, giving him a look, “suppose you’ve seen her, then.”

“Sylvia says she never phoned Donna to get anything,” the Doctor stated.

“Oh?” Wilf shuffled in place a bit. “Must have been Veena. I got mixed up, I suppose. Ha.” 

He liked Wilf, certainly, but he couldn’t help a rather critical look. How had he confused one of Donna’s casual friends for his own daughter? Wilf was wringing his hands together and his smile seemed weaker than usual under the scrutiny.

“She could be out having tea with the Queen, and I wouldn’t have any idea,” Sylvia complained, making about as much noise as possible with all her bags.

The Doctor had a thought, and it wasn’t a good one. He motioned for Wilf to follow him back to the sitting room, out of Sylvia’s earshot. “ _ Or _ it might have been someone you both  _ thought _ was Sylvia.”

“Eh?” It was Wilf’s turn to give him a doubtful look.

“Think about it. Sylvia calls, asks Donna to head out on errands, Donna goes out on her own. It’s the perfect set up. That’s how they work.”

“Who does?”

“Autons. Zygons. Could be another Sontaran clone, but why would they come back so soon?” It didn’t really matter; whoever it was had lured Donna into a trap. Finding her was first on the list. He could figure out the rest as he went.

The Doctor pulled his overcoat on. “The TARDIS can try to locate her by scanning for residual artron energy in the area.”

“The TARDIS?” Wilf echoed, looking rather nervous. Right, those were probably a lot of terms he wasn’t understanding.

“When people travel through the Vortex, even in a capsule they receive a low, non-harmful level of radiation. Should be unique enough to find Donna with. We’ll start with the immediate area, don’t want to pick up Martha by accident—”

“Er, Doctor—”

“—though that might not be a bad idea if we end up needing UNIT—”

“I could try phoning her,” Wilfred offered, mobile in his hand.

The Doctor paused, halfway to the door. “Oh.”

Wilf hit a couple buttons and the Doctor tried to keep a respectful distance as they both waited for Donna to answer.

“Don’t mention clones, or other aliens,” the Doctor advised. “Someone could be monitoring her calls.”

Wilf gave a hesitant nod before saying into the phone, “Donna, love, it’s me. Yeah, I know you’re busy, it’s just, er, I’ve forgot where you went off to, and the Doctor’s a bit worried is all.”

He could hear Donna’s voice, even if he couldn’t quite make out what she was saying. Wilf shot him a nervous glance.

“Alright, I’ll tell him. Love you.”

He hung up.

“Donna says she shouldn’t be too long and, er, not to worry.”

“She said something a bit ruder than that, didn’t she?” He guessed.

Wilfred chuckled. “Well, that’s our girl, isn’t it?”

“Yeah.” If Donna was giving that kind of attitude, she couldn’t really be in danger. And he suspected he’d be in for it if he kept on. The Doctor sighed. “So, Cluedo?”

Cluedo proved difficult. The first game he guessed the murderer after only one round. He and Wilf determined it was best not to give him any cards at all so that he started with nothing to go on. Then he got a bit preoccupied with the logistics of the secret passages.

“No, but they would intersect here, so, logically, you should be able to travel through all four rooms,” he said, pointing at the spot with emphasis. “Unless one was built to go underneath the other, but they would have had to dig pretty deep to ensure the structural integrity of the upper passage. And that’s assuming the whole thing hasn’t compromised the foundation of the house.”

“Well, it’s a bit of cardboard.”

“Right, but what I’m saying is in  _ reality _ —”

Sylvia’s voice from the kitchen interrupted his train of thought. “And just where have you been off to, lady?”

They both perked up at that. The Doctor led the way to find Donna had, in fact, returned. Only he was fairly sure she’d not been wearing that dress this morning. He thought he’d remember a thing like that.

“Had some things I needed to take care of in town,” she was saying before she flashed him a quick smile. “We’ll probably be off now, if that’s alright.”

“Fine, you don’t have to tell me what you’ve been up to. Just get him out of here. He’s been pestering dad all afternoon.”

“Oh, I didn’t mind,” said Wilf, though he waved them on nonetheless. “Have fun, you two.”

“Thanks, Gramps. I’ll be back next week for a proper visit,” Donna promised. She took his hand and began pulling him to the door.

“Er, be seeing you,” said the Doctor as they left. “Donna, what’s going on? You barely got to see your family.”

“It’s alright, I’ll make up for it next week.”

Now that they were walking along side-by-side he couldn’t help noticing she’d put on that perfume he’d got her at Maracon Five.

“Are we going somewhere?”

“Just home,” she answered, and indeed she led the way into the TARDIS. But she continued right on past the controls and up the corridor.

“Donna, where are we going?”

“Has anyone ever told you you’re a bit impatient?”

“Plenty. Still doesn’t answer my question.”

“Well, good thing we’re here, then.” She pushed open a door on the left, and he followed her into a totally unfamiliar space.

Hardwood flooring and deep red walls with a couple paintings hung up he’d thought he’d misplaced centuries ago. There was a little table with a lit candle he thought he recognized from somewhere.

“Is this a dining room? We have one of those?”

“Apparently.” Donna shrugged. “I asked her, and she showed me this.”

Two places were set for dinner, which looked to be a homemade pasta dish of some sort, and two glasses of wine had been poured.

The Doctor felt remarkably out of his element. He was not used to surprises, or at least not the sort that weren’t sudden invasions or attempts on his life.

“Donna, what’s going on?”

“You landed us on Valentine’s Day, you prawn,” she informed him.

“I did?”  _ Stupid _ Doctor, why hadn’t he checked the date when they arrived? “Donna, I’m so sorry. If I’d known—”

“Calm down, that was the whole point,” she huffed. Donna took a seat, and he followed her example. “Never really been much of one for it, but I know how much you like a holiday.”

“So you made us dinner,” he realized.

“Yeah, and we’d better eat it before it goes cold.”

Dutifully, he twirled a bit of pasta around his fork and dug in. “I don’t think you’ve ever made this before. It’s delicious, really.” He probably ought to say something more, like that her dress made her eyes bluer than usual, but he was having trouble phrasing it in proper compliment terms.

“Yeah, I might not be Top Chef, but I reckon it’s alright for short notice,” she said.

He was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that Donna had done all this and completely without his notice.

“Hold on,” he said, a thought occurring to him. “Did Wilf know about this?”

She smirked around the rim of her wine glass. “I might have asked him to keep you occupied.”

“Oh, I should’ve known! Soon as Sylvia came home and didn’t have any idea what he was talking about.”

Donna shook her head. “Figures mum would almost blow the whole thing. I couldn’t believe you had him call me!”

“Well, I thought something was wrong! And of course he wasn’t worried at all. Had us playing Cluedo!”

Donna burst out laughing. “You’re kidding!”

“There’s something not right about those secret passages,” was all he managed before joining in Donna’s giggles. He probably would have been embarrassed had it been anyone else to fool him like this. But Donna and Wilf were a special pair.

Distantly, he thought he heard the oven beep.

“That’ll be dessert,” she said, getting up from the table.

The Doctor swallowed his current mouthful of food. “Dessert?”

“Yeah, and you better finish that if you want any.”

Donna left the room and the Doctor was a little glad for it because he was starting to feel overwhelmed. Here Donna had put together all this just for him, and he hadn’t gotten her anything. She said she didn’t want any of that, but it was hard to grasp that he deserved this sort of attention after sitting around all day doing nothing. Donna always took care of him, of course, but this was far above and beyond the call.

She returned soon after. “Still needs a few minutes to cool.”

“You arranged for all this in one day,” he marveled. “Not even a day.”

“Yeah, well, managing other people’s schedules for years makes it easy to figure out how to spend your time wisely.”

“Not just anyone can do that,” he said, unwilling to let her dismiss the compliment. “This has been brilliant. Really.”

She didn’t argue the point any further, and they both made quick work of finishing their dinners. “I’ll cut us both a piece,” she said, taking his dishes before he could even offer to help. She was so on top of things the Doctor barely knew what to do with himself.

Donna came back with two plates. It looked like a bread pudding with chocolate chips. He speared a bit with his fork and took a bite. “Is that banana?”

“Well  _ duh _ ,” she answered. “You’re not exactly subtle about loving them.”

“I love you,” he said, grinning. Donna scoffed, but he could see her trying not to smile. He felt rather giddy himself. It wasn’t as if Donna had never cooked for him before, but this felt different somehow. Knowing she’d done it all just to see him happy was better even than the banana. Telling her honestly how he felt about her seemed the bare minimum of reciprocation.

They ate their dessert in companionable silence. Donna had also refilled their glasses, and he wasn’t sure whether it was the wine or the food or just her that left him feeling so warm.

When she got up to clear the rest of the dishes away, however, he caught her hand. “Leave it for tomorrow,” the Doctor insisted.

“It’ll only take a minute, silly.”

“Donna, you’re brilliant, really. And this is already the best Valentine’s Day I’ve ever had.” It was also the only one he’d ever had, or had someone give him. “I just want to spend the rest of the night with you.” If she did one more thing for him he thought he might have a nervous fit.

She relented, using their joined hands to pull him up from the table. He went right in for a kiss that left a chocolate smear on Donna’s bottom lip when he’d pulled away.

“Oops.” The Doctor quickly grabbed a couple napkins for them both, feeling his face grow a bit hot as she laughed again.

Donna walked arm in arm with him back down the corridor to their room and let him hold the door for her. Then he followed her inside.

He should have realized she had planned ahead.

She hadn’t even bothered with the lights because a scattering of candles about the room already cast a warm glow. When he breathed in, he could feel a wave of calm wash over him.

“Are those from the Dreenax Bazaar?” Now he knew why the candle at dinner had seemed familiar; Donna had bought a few on their trip to the planet’s market. These ones in particular he knew she’d gotten herself as a special treat for their relaxing properties. “Oh, Donna, you didn’t have to.”

“No, but I wanted to.” When he turned to her, she was watching him with such a soft and compassionate look he thought she could see right through to his hearts. “Might not be diamond coral reefs, but I thought someone ought to show you a good time for once.”

Oh. The Doctor couldn’t seem to find any words for once. If not for the candles and their calming influence, his emotions might have overtaken him entirely.

As it was, the only thing he could think to do was pull her into a hug. “Thank you.” If his voice sounded a little thick to his ears, well, it was only Donna who heard. His Donna, who made him feel so loved with just a few simple words or a gesture that no one else might have thought of.

The Doctor leaned back and tilted his head down to capture her lips. Donna’s hands rose into his hair, and the warmth he felt had coalesced into a simmering desire somewhere below his stomach. Everything else was for once totally quiet in this moment, and making love to this brilliant woman was the one thought in his head.

He was only permitted to nose along her jawline for a moment before she was backing out of his arms.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Just need a minute,” she said, tilting her head towards the door to the en suite. Her cheeks were bright pink and there was a sort of gleam in her eyes that had his hearts speeding up just a little. “You wait right there,” Donna added with point to the bed. She was slipping through the door before he could reply.

The Doctor shrugged out of his jacket and set that aside, then undid his trainers and removed his socks. He sat back against the headboard to wait as Donna had instructed, breathing in the faint vanilla that wafted from the candles. It kept his wondering as to what sort of surprise Donna could possibly have hidden away in the bathroom of all places to an idle buzz in his mind.

“You ready for me, Spaceman?” The door opened at last, and Donna stepped out into the low light. All the air left his lungs in a great rush as he took in the sight of her.

Gone was the dress. She’d put on...he didn’t know what to call it. Something thin and short and made primarily of lace or a synthetic material that mimicked it, which left nothing to the imagination — not that he needed imagination with an eidetic memory. But it certainly brought those memories to the fore.

“It’s not too much, is it?” She was chewing at her lip, waiting on his reaction.

The Doctor had to swallow once before he could even attempt a reply. “Donna, it’s lovely.  _ You’re  _ lovely.” He scooted down to the end of the bed, arms held out. “Come here, please.”

She did, slowly, a sway to her hips with every step that his eyes couldn’t help but to track.

“You have no idea what this is, do you?” She asked, picking at a bit of the lace. He shook his head, causing her to laugh. “Welcome to the world of women’s undergarments, Time Boy.”

His brow furrowed, more than a little confused. Yes, he saw how what she was wearing could just barely qualify as covering up the designated private areas of the human body — though now that she’d approached and he could see just how sheer the material was, the Doctor considered revising that assessment — but he couldn’t picture Donna wearing such a thing in the day to day. She hated being cold.

“Not very practical, is it?” He asked, reaching to rub a bit of it between thumb and forefinger.

“Oh, I don’t know,” Donna replied rather airily. “I’d say it’s doing its job just fine.”

“Hm?” The Doctor managed to drag his eyes up from her chest to catch her smirking at him. Before he could try to make up some reasonable excuse, she was leaning down to kiss him.

He licked at her lips, greedy for more, and her mouth opened to him. It took a couple gentle pushes on his shoulders for him to get the hint to move back, but his hands went to her waist to make sure she came with him, his thumbs brushing against lace.

Donna placed one knee on the mattress and swung her other leg over, and he moaned into her mouth when she settled into his lap. Through the barely-there material he could feel the heat of her. It sent what felt like a fire coursing through him.

Her hips rolled as he pressed up into her, and Donna broke the kiss off with a gasp. “You know, I might be coming round to this whole holiday thing after all.”

The Doctor raised his hands to cup her cheeks. “Donna Noble. My Valentine.”

She kissed him through the goofy smile on his face, and showed him far more than a good time that night.


End file.
